Monthly Archives: March 2013

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We all went out for Easter brunch and you were not in the mood to sit and eat. You’ve seemed tired since you woke up and I’m wondering if you’re still tired from your big day yesterday. At brunch we took turns holding you and walking around; you just would not sit down. I had orange juice and you pointed to it, so I held it to your lips and let you have your first taste ever of OJ. You immediately signed for more! I was so excited for your dad and the others to see you sign, and you kept doing it after every sip. The whole table got to see you sign. It was so cute!

Your nana has been looking forward to taking you to the zoo for months, and today it finally happened. We headed there first thing this morning so that we could get in as much time there before your nap as possible. You started in the stroller but almost immediately wanted out to explore on your own. You really seemed to enjoy the zoo, and you walked so much you amazed us all with your energy. We’d almost made it through the entire zoo when most of us – you excluded – got tired and decided to call it a day. We headed to nana and papa’s for pizza, and you had a nice nap. I can’t wait to take you to the zoo again; I’m sure today was just the first of many visits.

Grandpa and Grandma Stephans arrived this afternoon. The weather is beautiful so we hung out in the backyard. Your grandma bought you a plastic set of a rake, shovel and spade and you had lots of fun playing with those. Soon your nana, papa, Uncle Kyle and Joy arrived for dinner. You knew everyone was most excited to see you, and you put on a little show by playfully walking around and babbling happily to everybody. You seemed so happy to have so much love and attention showered on you.

I just kissed your sleeping forehead, walked out of the room and was in tears before I could even close the door. You’re fast asleep in Nancy’s lap, and you are adorable. And I have to head to the airport for a business trip. As with other trips, my impending departure has been weighing heavily on me in the days leading up to my trip. But unlike other trips, I completely lost it today. I’m not sure why this time was so hard, but I just feel awful and sad and conflicted and lonely. And I’m not even out of town yet.

Your nana has been so excited for you to come over to see their Easter decorations and so that she could give you your Easter basket. We headed over there this afternoon and upon arrival discovered they’d set up a little Easter egg hunt for you. You didn’t see them at first, but with some help from nana you spotted a couple. You grabbed one, then you grabbed the next with the other hand and walked around holding both of them. Nana tried to get you to put them into basket, but you weren’t interested. But next, you found another egg, and desperately wanted to hold it, too, but couldn’t get two into one hand. You struggled for a bit then eventually moved on. Later in the day you discovered the egg-filled (by nana) basket and had lots of fun swinging it higher and higher, and around and around, until all of the eggs dumped and fell out. Then you’d put them back in and begin again. Thankfully, they were plastic eggs.

Your hair is getting pretty long. It’s possible to put it in one ponytail on top of your head, or two tiny ponytails in the back. Soon it will be so long that it will get in your face and eyes and (I would imagine) annoy you. You have lots of barrettes and clips and headbands that we could use to keep it out of your face. However you won’t keep them in. More often than not you feel me putting it in and immediately reach up and yank it out. On the rare occasion that I can somehow distract you right after I clip in the barrette and it stays in for a minute, it will only last until you see your reflection, upon which you’ll take it out.

A hair clip in your hair for more than a few seconds!

Headbands never last for more than a minute or two, max. I don’t know what we’re going to do when your hair gets longer. Maybe when I can pull it into a ponytail behind your head you won’t be able to reach it to pull it out? Your nana and I have already had fun playing with your hair and trying out different hairdo’s. Your dad, however, displayed some perplexity recently about your growing hair, saying, “Should we trim it?”. Your nana couldn’t believe your dad suggested this; she’s been anxiously awaiting the day when your hair would be long enough to ‘do’.

You have started doing your little wave – where you hold your hand up about shoulder height and then open and close your hand several times – all the time. Your dad and I joke that it’s the sort of wave, relaxed and almost as an afterthought, that would be accompanied by the words ‘buh-bye’ if you could talk.

Oftentimes you will do this gesture to say goodbye, when you hear the door shut or when I say goodbye to your father. But in the last day or two you’re doing it at random times, sitting in your highchair or while we’re rocking, for example. I know you’re trying to communicate something, but I haven’t quite figured it out yet. I’ve still been trying to teach you the signs for ‘more’ and ‘all done’, but you’ve never signed those back. Maybe you’re using this wave as some sort of sign; I just have to determine for what.